Merry Christmas family and friends!
I'm taking a moment before heading to church with my family to wish everyone a very Happy and Blessed Christmas! I'm so excited for my niece's first Christmas!
Upcoming within the next few days:
~ pics of my new apt in Surprise, AZ
~ pics of tomorrow morning, starring Jennifer!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sharing a few Pics!
So, I took two pics over the past 48 hours that are worth sharing:
This first one is supposed to be a cactus with blue Christmas lights decorating it ... I FOUND ONE, LAURA!! Its a little blurry, I know. I took it from my car, ... I couldn't come to a complete stop because there was a car coming up behind me on the road.
This other picture is of the sunset over the mountains in CA. I was on the phone with my Dad, and he asked if it was dark here (it was pitch black at home) ... and about 5 mins later, I was treated to this sight ... so I took a picture of it. The best part was, I was sitting in the parking lot of the church that I've been going to since being in AZ.
Enjoy! Have a great day!
This first one is supposed to be a cactus with blue Christmas lights decorating it ... I FOUND ONE, LAURA!! Its a little blurry, I know. I took it from my car, ... I couldn't come to a complete stop because there was a car coming up behind me on the road.
This other picture is of the sunset over the mountains in CA. I was on the phone with my Dad, and he asked if it was dark here (it was pitch black at home) ... and about 5 mins later, I was treated to this sight ... so I took a picture of it. The best part was, I was sitting in the parking lot of the church that I've been going to since being in AZ.
Enjoy! Have a great day!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Full Moon Friday!
So, I realize that I'm writing this on Saturday evening, but I needed a bit of time to collect my thoughts!
For anyone who cares to listen, this post is not going to contain any pictures, but rather update you on my past week. Its been rather ... challenging to say the least.
Fri the 5th -- went to the post office to pick up my AZ state license and to pick up a Passport application ... and I successfully locked my keys in my jeep. So, I called AAA (good thing my phone was in my pocket and my wallet was in my hand). My windows were all cracked about 1/2 an inch or so. While waiting for the guy, I call the post office (that I'm sitting outside of) to make an appointment on Wednesday for my passport at 2:00. The guy shows up in a timely manner and brings out this 1/4 in thick wire stick with a little hook on the end. He tries several times, unsuccessfully to either push the manual lock, or to hit the automatic lock, by going through the slightly cracked open window. Finally, I suggest trying to get my key out of the ignition - which worked! He was able to bring my key up through the opening in the window, and then we could unlock my jeep! And I was on my way!
Tues the 9th -- Its evening time, and I'm cleaning up from dinner, and it occurs to me that I have my passport appointment tomorrow. So I attempt to gather the following 3 documents: drivers license, filled out passport application, and original birth certificate. Drivers license is right where it belongs in my wallet - check. My passport application is sitting on the kitchen counter where it belonged - check. My birth certificate ... I can't find ANYWHERE! It was in my car Saturday, and now its NOWHERE! I tore my car and house apart 2 times each and each time with no success. So I went to bed ... confused, irritated, and upset.
Wed the 10th -- I woke up immediately thinking about my missing birth certificate, searched the house and my car again ...with no success. I went to work, and realized I couldn't keep my appointment at the post office for 2:00. I tried calling several times, but it was busy or just kept ringing. I left at 2:00 and stopped by the court house. The woman there gave me a phone number, a mailing address, a website, and a paper form - all of which I could choose from to obtain a duplicate original birth certificate from vital records. Of course, by now it's after 4:30 EST (since I'm in AZ) ... so I took myself home first. Once home, I told myself: Julie, you had your birth certificate Saturday. FIND IT! So, I started praying. And low and behold, wasn't it in an envelope that I had checked THREE TIMES!!! I immediately changed my clothes and ran back to the court house. She processed my passport and sent me to the post office to overnight it. I was feeling fabulous at this point. I had found my birth certificate. I had processed my passport. I stopped at the bank en-route to the post office and paid my car bill. Once at the post office, I was able to mail it over night. Life was back to being good. It was 75 degrees outside and sunny, which made it even better. And it was about 3:45. Perfect - I had just under 2 hours before sunset which gave me more than enough time to get myself to the local state park, go for a run, and explore the water front a bit. I started running at the trail head, and wasn't even a quarter of a mile in when there was a man walking a golden lab on a leash heading towards me. I slowed down like I normally do, reached out to pet the dog, like I normally do, and GOT BIT! The dog bit my arm! I wasn't badly hurt, but my skin was broken. Conversing back and forth with the man, he tells me his dog is caught up on all shots, and tells me he is going to leave his name/address/phone number on my windshield. We part ways, and I try to finish my run. That lasted for all of about 3 more minutes until I turned around and headed back. True to his word, his contact info was on my windshield. I called Jen to figure out what to do. Long story short (well, Julie short) ... I took myself to an urgent care. While there, I got a tetnis shot (OUCH), animal control came to talk to me, they cleaned and bandaged my arm, and I got a rx for an antibiotic and a pain killer. I got the prescription filled, headed home, took some meds and went to bed.
Thurs the 11th -- short story: the combo of meds and shots didn't sit well with me. I didn't get myself to work until 9:00 (I'm usually there between -7:30) and I left by 12:15 (usually not before 2:30 - except see Tuesday). I went to bed and didn't do much else.
Fri the 12th -- FULL MOON ... the guy who owns the dog got me proof of his up to date vaccines and I went to his house to pick them up. Before leaving, I put dinner (baked chicken and biscuits) in the oven. He only lives about 1.5 miles from me. I picked up the copy of his vaccines and then stopped at the gas station (light was on) ... and came home. At this point I realized that I had locked the man door from the garage into the house, and the front door, and both back doors ... and I didn't have the keys. So I was locked out of this house that I was living in, but was able to be in the garage (sun had just set) ... and my phone battery just dropped to only one bar left. .... And, my oven is on and dinner is ready at this point. Calls to Jen and Dad left me with suggestions but nothing that was working. I left a message on the "emergency line" at the real estate office that I'm renting from. I tried getting the door handles off with my tool kit - but the door handle screws were all on the inside, as were all door hinges. Every window was locked ... and I couldn't find the breaker box. I took myself next door in the hopes that maybe they had a spare key. Nice family ... but no keys. But, the wife was willing to help me try and break in and/or give me her couch until the real estate office opened in the morning. Luckily, she knew where the breaker box was (outside) and it was labeled, so she shut the range off - no burning down the house! We were able to pick the lock on the back sliding door, but there was a wooden block preventing the door from sliding that needed to be removed from the inside. Then ... she noticed that one of my spare bedroom windows was unlocked!!!! We were able to pop the screen out ... put one of her children (10 year old girl) through the window, and I was able to get into my house!
What a week!
Let's just hope this next week goes better - since I'm flying home on SATURDAY!!!
For anyone who cares to listen, this post is not going to contain any pictures, but rather update you on my past week. Its been rather ... challenging to say the least.
Fri the 5th -- went to the post office to pick up my AZ state license and to pick up a Passport application ... and I successfully locked my keys in my jeep. So, I called AAA (good thing my phone was in my pocket and my wallet was in my hand). My windows were all cracked about 1/2 an inch or so. While waiting for the guy, I call the post office (that I'm sitting outside of) to make an appointment on Wednesday for my passport at 2:00. The guy shows up in a timely manner and brings out this 1/4 in thick wire stick with a little hook on the end. He tries several times, unsuccessfully to either push the manual lock, or to hit the automatic lock, by going through the slightly cracked open window. Finally, I suggest trying to get my key out of the ignition - which worked! He was able to bring my key up through the opening in the window, and then we could unlock my jeep! And I was on my way!
Tues the 9th -- Its evening time, and I'm cleaning up from dinner, and it occurs to me that I have my passport appointment tomorrow. So I attempt to gather the following 3 documents: drivers license, filled out passport application, and original birth certificate. Drivers license is right where it belongs in my wallet - check. My passport application is sitting on the kitchen counter where it belonged - check. My birth certificate ... I can't find ANYWHERE! It was in my car Saturday, and now its NOWHERE! I tore my car and house apart 2 times each and each time with no success. So I went to bed ... confused, irritated, and upset.
Wed the 10th -- I woke up immediately thinking about my missing birth certificate, searched the house and my car again ...with no success. I went to work, and realized I couldn't keep my appointment at the post office for 2:00. I tried calling several times, but it was busy or just kept ringing. I left at 2:00 and stopped by the court house. The woman there gave me a phone number, a mailing address, a website, and a paper form - all of which I could choose from to obtain a duplicate original birth certificate from vital records. Of course, by now it's after 4:30 EST (since I'm in AZ) ... so I took myself home first. Once home, I told myself: Julie, you had your birth certificate Saturday. FIND IT! So, I started praying. And low and behold, wasn't it in an envelope that I had checked THREE TIMES!!! I immediately changed my clothes and ran back to the court house. She processed my passport and sent me to the post office to overnight it. I was feeling fabulous at this point. I had found my birth certificate. I had processed my passport. I stopped at the bank en-route to the post office and paid my car bill. Once at the post office, I was able to mail it over night. Life was back to being good. It was 75 degrees outside and sunny, which made it even better. And it was about 3:45. Perfect - I had just under 2 hours before sunset which gave me more than enough time to get myself to the local state park, go for a run, and explore the water front a bit. I started running at the trail head, and wasn't even a quarter of a mile in when there was a man walking a golden lab on a leash heading towards me. I slowed down like I normally do, reached out to pet the dog, like I normally do, and GOT BIT! The dog bit my arm! I wasn't badly hurt, but my skin was broken. Conversing back and forth with the man, he tells me his dog is caught up on all shots, and tells me he is going to leave his name/address/phone number on my windshield. We part ways, and I try to finish my run. That lasted for all of about 3 more minutes until I turned around and headed back. True to his word, his contact info was on my windshield. I called Jen to figure out what to do. Long story short (well, Julie short) ... I took myself to an urgent care. While there, I got a tetnis shot (OUCH), animal control came to talk to me, they cleaned and bandaged my arm, and I got a rx for an antibiotic and a pain killer. I got the prescription filled, headed home, took some meds and went to bed.
Thurs the 11th -- short story: the combo of meds and shots didn't sit well with me. I didn't get myself to work until 9:00 (I'm usually there between -7:30) and I left by 12:15 (usually not before 2:30 - except see Tuesday). I went to bed and didn't do much else.
Fri the 12th -- FULL MOON ... the guy who owns the dog got me proof of his up to date vaccines and I went to his house to pick them up. Before leaving, I put dinner (baked chicken and biscuits) in the oven. He only lives about 1.5 miles from me. I picked up the copy of his vaccines and then stopped at the gas station (light was on) ... and came home. At this point I realized that I had locked the man door from the garage into the house, and the front door, and both back doors ... and I didn't have the keys. So I was locked out of this house that I was living in, but was able to be in the garage (sun had just set) ... and my phone battery just dropped to only one bar left. .... And, my oven is on and dinner is ready at this point. Calls to Jen and Dad left me with suggestions but nothing that was working. I left a message on the "emergency line" at the real estate office that I'm renting from. I tried getting the door handles off with my tool kit - but the door handle screws were all on the inside, as were all door hinges. Every window was locked ... and I couldn't find the breaker box. I took myself next door in the hopes that maybe they had a spare key. Nice family ... but no keys. But, the wife was willing to help me try and break in and/or give me her couch until the real estate office opened in the morning. Luckily, she knew where the breaker box was (outside) and it was labeled, so she shut the range off - no burning down the house! We were able to pick the lock on the back sliding door, but there was a wooden block preventing the door from sliding that needed to be removed from the inside. Then ... she noticed that one of my spare bedroom windows was unlocked!!!! We were able to pop the screen out ... put one of her children (10 year old girl) through the window, and I was able to get into my house!
What a week!
Let's just hope this next week goes better - since I'm flying home on SATURDAY!!!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Cacti for Lauri (Laura)
So. the other night I was talking to my friend Laura and she said she wanted to see some pictures of some cacti ... possibly decorated for Christmas. I took a walk around my neighborhood last night and took some pictures. Unfortunately there weren't any cacti that were decorated, but I still think everyone will enjoy looking at these pictures!
This one to the L is a house just down the 
road from me. It pretty much has a little
bit of everything! A "sampling" if you will.
Take note of the lack of a front yard!!!
The pic to the R is a decorated surf board! HAHA ... and with the Palm Trees, it looks like it should be in FL, not AZ!
And this picture shows a fire hydrant. I realize its neither cacti related, nor Christmas related, but it looks funny ... without the top on it that we're used to!
And this house has Santa in the front yard! Doesn't he look a little warm, with his red suit on in the middle of the desert!
A flowering cactus!
A non-flowering cactus!
These were the first ones we saw!
Rock pile in my front Larger green plant in Sunset from my back yard!
yard! my front yard!
That might be one of my favorite pictures (of the sunset) ... but it has nothing on the sunsets over the water!!
I realize there is water in this picture - but its not Lake Erie or Lake Ontario!
This is what I like to think of as a "cactus" ... the image that first pops into my head when I hear that word.
This picture is of a house across the street from where I work.
Notice the super tall garage door - for a boat / RV. Lot of people have this!
This tree looks like a giant Pineapple! HAHAHA!
Ok, I hope these pictures gave everyone a little idea of the "vegetation" that I have out here. NO ONE has a yard ... well, that has grass, anyhow. I guess one's water bill to have a grass yard is out of this world!!
Feel free to let me know you're reading by saying hi in the comments section!
Not sure when my next post will be or what it will be about. If anyone's inquiring mind wants to know, please say something!
This one to the L is a house just down the 
road from me. It pretty much has a little
bit of everything! A "sampling" if you will.
Take note of the lack of a front yard!!!
The pic to the R is a decorated surf board! HAHA ... and with the Palm Trees, it looks like it should be in FL, not AZ!
And this picture shows a fire hydrant. I realize its neither cacti related, nor Christmas related, but it looks funny ... without the top on it that we're used to!
And this house has Santa in the front yard! Doesn't he look a little warm, with his red suit on in the middle of the desert!
A flowering cactus!
A non-flowering cactus!
These were the first ones we saw!
Rock pile in my front Larger green plant in Sunset from my back yard!
yard! my front yard!
That might be one of my favorite pictures (of the sunset) ... but it has nothing on the sunsets over the water!!
I realize there is water in this picture - but its not Lake Erie or Lake Ontario!
This is what I like to think of as a "cactus" ... the image that first pops into my head when I hear that word.
This picture is of a house across the street from where I work.
Notice the super tall garage door - for a boat / RV. Lot of people have this!
This tree looks like a giant Pineapple! HAHAHA!
Ok, I hope these pictures gave everyone a little idea of the "vegetation" that I have out here. NO ONE has a yard ... well, that has grass, anyhow. I guess one's water bill to have a grass yard is out of this world!!
Feel free to let me know you're reading by saying hi in the comments section!
Not sure when my next post will be or what it will be about. If anyone's inquiring mind wants to know, please say something!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Clockwise Loop 2:00 Start time
"I'm in a glass case of emotion!"So, last Sunday my parents and I decided we couldn't be right across the Colorado River from CA, and not drive through a little snippet of CA!
But before heading to CA, we took a little detour to "London" .... The famous "London Bridge" is actually located here in Lake Havasu City, AZ! In the 1960s, it was moved brick by brick (stone by stone?), built on land over a peninsula, and then the ground was removed under it, creating a channel and an island. There's a quaint little "English" town at the foot of the bridge. Mom took lots of pictures :)
So, we headed south into Parker, AZ, crossed into CA and headed north through the desert. When we were crossing the boarder, my Mom asked if I had asked Erin if we needed PASSPORTS to get into the state. I had forgotten!! LOL! Needless to say, we encountered a "check station" right after crossing the boarder ... we were all laughing! Unfortunately, I only have pictures of this on my phone. I had failed to charge my camera battery the night before, and after visiting "London" my camera battery died! We did stop at a gas station and Mom bought a disposable camera (which the lady at the register told her she needed to be 18+ to purchase it. I didn't know cameras had age restrictions on them!)
The drive through the desert was beautiful. We were driving in a valley with the "Old Woman" mountains to our west. I laughed at that!
The northern part of CA that we entered was a town called Needles. There wasn't too much there - at all. So we came back, crossing the Colorado again (heading east for the first time during our trip) near Kingman (future home of Vince) and headed south back to Lake Havasu City.
Fast forward from last Sunday to yesterday (12-06-08) ... They have a boat parade on the river to kick off the start of the Christmas season. For anyone who can't quite comprehend this - as I couldn't really - take the 4th of July feeling of people sitting in chairs and on blankets, people passing out glow sticks, 60-ish degree weather once it gets dark and now imagine a bunch of boats decorated for Christmas (think high school Homecoming Parade-esk). Place yourself in the desert. Put it all together. There you have it. I just felt like I needed to add some snow, and then everything would have been perfect!
Off to a local sports bar to try and catch the Steelers game!!!
Coming up sometime this week: Cacti for Laura!
Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave me comments!
Julie
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Flagstaff, AZ to Sedona, AZ to Lake Havasu City, AZ
A week ago (as has been the theme all week) we woke up in Flagstaff, AZ with plans to get to Lake Havasu City, AZ - our final destination!!However, anyone that I ever talked to about coming to AZ told me that I NEEDED to visit Sedona because it was just so beautiful! So, since Flagstaff is only about 30 miles north of Sedona, we figured what the heck ... we've driving 2000+ miles already, what's a 30 mile detour?
There are two roads that run between Flagstaff and Sedona, and they run parallel to each other. One is the interstate, and just west of it runs a county route. We opted to drive the county route each way ... notice Jack getting a little dizzy as we were going up and down a mountain pass. Enroute to get to Sedona, we passed a sign that said "Scenic Outlook Ahead" ... so we stopped. It was this beautiful area that looked down into a canyon with a small Native American Flea Market set up ... where you could buy anything hand made by several Native Americans who belong to a few different tribes.
The town of Sedona is very much a
tourist trap, and reminded me of Clifton Hills, CANADA just over the boarder in Niagara Falls (for those of you familiar with that) ... just instead of everything being focused on the falls, it was focused on the beautiful rock formations and desert. One of the little shops on the main strip through town was called "Pink Jeep Tours" and it made me laugh because there were these PINK Wranglers that people could go on tours of the area through. Pink and jeeps should not go together!!!!
After visiting Sedona for a few hours, we logged our final leg of the trip and got ourselves to Lake Havasu City!!! We stopped at a "Jack In The Box!!" for lunch. There was this truck with an elk ... so of course I needed to take a picture! Once back on the road, there was a strip of over 100 miles connecting Flagstaff to Kingman in which there was NOTHING .... absolutely nothing but desert. The "exits" off of the thru-way were access to individual ranches at best.
We reached Lake Havasu, and with the devoted help of our friend Jack Garmin, we found my beautiful house as the sun was begining to set over the lake. (for pictures of my house, please see Dec 1's entry).Tomorrow (or Monday's) entry: Last Sunday we traveled in a loop through the desert, into CA!
I apologize for the mosg-posg of pictures today ... I couldn't get them arranged the way I liked!!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Amarillo, TX to Flagstaff, AZ
So, Friday we went from Amarillo, TX to Flagstaff, AZ ... taking us right through the state of New Mexico.
Nothing too exciting happened as we were leaving Texas, but as we entered NM we changed time zones again ... to "Mountain Time" ... and we stopped at a rest stop ... coffee goes through you quickly!
This rest stop had ...
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
So then we kept driving all morning ... and decided to pick Albuquerque, NM as a place to stop for lunch. Mom had said the day before that she had a taste for pizza, so we figured we'd find a local pizza shop in Albuquerque with a little help from our friend Jack Garmin. Well, I put in Pizza into the search screen, and just picked one that "sounded" good ... that didn't have a nationwide chain name associated with it. Needless to say, it took us into a section of town that we all decided we really shouldn't be in ... and just kept driving. After driving and deciding, we stopped at a hotel and Mom went in and asked. We ended up at a pizza shop across the street from one of the boundaries of the University of New Mexico ... so it was a college-esk pizza shop. Nevertheless, we went in, ordered pizza, and it was delicious!
About 2 blocks away from this pizza shop was a Dunkin' Donuts ... so we had to stop for iced coffee immediately following lunch ... just because!
We left Albuquerque, and headed into AZ .... and in doing so ... we crossed the Continental Divide.
After pictures, we kept driving and ended in Flagstaff for the night. Here are a few pictures of the desert and the mountains ... with more to come tomorrow ...
Tomorrow's adventures: Flagstaff, AZ --> Sedona, AZ --> Lake Havasu City, AZ!
Nothing too exciting happened as we were leaving Texas, but as we entered NM we changed time zones again ... to "Mountain Time" ... and we stopped at a rest stop ... coffee goes through you quickly!
This rest stop had ...
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
So then we kept driving all morning ... and decided to pick Albuquerque, NM as a place to stop for lunch. Mom had said the day before that she had a taste for pizza, so we figured we'd find a local pizza shop in Albuquerque with a little help from our friend Jack Garmin. Well, I put in Pizza into the search screen, and just picked one that "sounded" good ... that didn't have a nationwide chain name associated with it. Needless to say, it took us into a section of town that we all decided we really shouldn't be in ... and just kept driving. After driving and deciding, we stopped at a hotel and Mom went in and asked. We ended up at a pizza shop across the street from one of the boundaries of the University of New Mexico ... so it was a college-esk pizza shop. Nevertheless, we went in, ordered pizza, and it was delicious!About 2 blocks away from this pizza shop was a Dunkin' Donuts ... so we had to stop for iced coffee immediately following lunch ... just because!
We left Albuquerque, and headed into AZ .... and in doing so ... we crossed the Continental Divide.
After pictures, we kept driving and ended in Flagstaff for the night. Here are a few pictures of the desert and the mountains ... with more to come tomorrow ...
Tomorrow's adventures: Flagstaff, AZ --> Sedona, AZ --> Lake Havasu City, AZ!
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